PS3 Bug Blocks Users From Gaming On and Offline

Sony is investigating a bug that is preventing some PS3 owners from accessing the PlayStation Network and in some cases, playing certain games offline.


Kotaku reports that late Sunday night PS3 users started having trouble. Upon booting their consoles up, they were unable to sign into their accounts, check their trophies, use dynamic themes or access the PlayStation Network. However, it soon transpired that this was not just a connection problem; users were unable to play some games offline too.
Kotaku's Luke Plunkett writes:

The issue is said to be only affecting older PS3s as opposed to the PS3 Slim, and some speculate it has something to do with a calendar bug. This, however, has yet to be confirmed.

Samsung's First 3D HDTV: The Good and Bad

Samsung's first 3D HDTV received a positive review.

TechRadar recently reviewed Samsung's 40-inch 40C7000 3D HDTV, apparently the first of its kind in the UK. There's a lot riding on the first generation of 3D HDTVs: if the technology doesn't initially make a goof first impression, then 3D technology may fall out of the public eye again.

Naturally there are a few hurdles 3D must overcome to really sink its teeth into the consumer's wallets: the price of the glasses, the availability of actual 3D content, viewer comfort and so on. On the content side, Samsung's 40C7000 hits the nail on the head, offering the ability to convert 2D video into 3D. And what happens if you throw a party? Are you going to purchase multiple 3D glasses?

Overall the HDTV scored rather well. The site points out that the new HDTV is more than just a platform for 3D, serving as a "home entertainment hub" with USB and Internet functions, a "host of user parameters," and a great potential for expansion.

But on the negative side, TechRadar felt that the 3D functions would work better on an HDTV larger than this 40-inch model. There's also the whole price issue: forcing consumers to purchase additional shutter glasses and a 3D-capable Blu-ray player. The price may not justify a possibly passing fad. Worse, TechRadar said that sometimes things would appear in the wrong order of depth. A person's head for example, would appear in the foreground whereas his body would be in the background.

TigerText iPhone App Nukes Texts, Allows Cheating

Now you can feel secure about cheating on your spouse and/or boss.

One of the negative aspects about texting is the footprint these digital messages leave behind. Not only is the text on the sender and recipient's device, but it's also located on the ISP server that actually transmitted the message. This is bad news for a parent of a sexting teen, as ISPs and mobile carriers will hold onto those messages and images for a good few years.

TIME reports that there is a new Apple App for the iPhone that eliminates the footprint of electronic messages. The drawback is that both the sender and receiver must use this application, however the secure feeling of knowing there will be no evidence of the conversation is probably tenfold. Called TigerText (no lie), the app is free to download and promises that its messages doesn't last "forever."

Apparently it works like this: the sender loads up the app and sends the text to the recipient (who also has TigerText). The message is actually stored on the TigerText servers-- the recipient can read the message without downloading it onto the device. The sender can also set parameters that determine when the message will be deleted, ranging from a "Delete on Read" setting to up to five days storage.

Although the app is free, the actual service isn't. The first 100 messages sent over 15 days will be free, and it will always be free to read incoming messages. However iPhone users will be charged $1.49 for every 250 messages per month, or they can pay a flat rate of $2.49 per month for unlimited texts.

Naturally this app would be ideal for industrial spies and cheating spouses. Secure your marriage and employment by downloading TigerText from the App Store here.

New Microsoft BlueTrack Mice Are Way Cheap

Microsoft Hardware is introducing three sub-$30 mice in its BlueTrack line of peripherals.

Microsoft Hardware said Thursday that it has added three new mice to its current BlueTrack Technology-based line of peripherals. The new models will be dirt cheap, costing just under $30, and includes the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500, Wireless Mouse 2000 and Comfort Mouse 4500.

All three were touted with the ability to "virtually" track on any surface, designed for the mobile consumer who doesn't have the room or patience to carry a mousepad. Supposedly these guys even track on glass.

All three mice are now available for pre-order on Amazon starting today, however the 2000 and 4500 won't ship until March; the 3500 model ships in April.

The Olympics Chose Windows XP Over Vista, 7

Read on to hear about the Acer laptop vs. Soup incident!

As a Canadian, the winter Olympic games are a big deal to me. Not only are the games being held on home soil in Vancouver, but Canadian athletes are winning gold and the both hockey squads are performing at exceptionally high levels.

Also performing well at the Olympics is Microsoft, as all of the computers used at the event run Windows. It's not Windows 7, but rather the ever-lasting Windows XP.

Acer won the contract to provide the computers for the 2010 games and confirmed that it shipped more than 6,000 notebooks and desktops for organizers of the event – all of which pack Windows XP rather than the Windows 7 OS found on all of Acer's retail offerings today.

"It was the operating system requested by VANOC (the Olympic organizing committee) and Atos Origin" (the technology integrator managing the Olympics tech operations), said Todd Olson, who manages Acer's tech work in Vancouver, as quoted by CNet.

Olympic organizers opted to go with Windows XP because Windows 7 was "a bit too new to be used."

So far, Windows XP has been doing exactly what is asked of it, with the only notable computer trouble coming at the hands of a bowl of soup rather than software. The incident came when an Olympics worker went into an excited cheer and spilled soup all over a laptop. The worker then shut off the laptop and later found that it still worked.

Acer offered to replace the machine, but the worker declined a new one as she didn't want to part with a notebook hearty enough to survive a bowl of soup.